Nick Laham/Getty ImagesZach Parise was the Devils' representative in the All-Star game -- and he has the jersey to prove it.

Zach Parise wasn't at the 3 p.m. practice because the Devils didn't see the point in having him travel from Montreal, where he played in the All-Star game Sunday night, to New Jersey -- where he wouldn't have practiced -- just so he could travel to Ottawa with the team. Ottawa's only about a two- or three-hour drive from Montreal, so it made sense for Parise to just go directly there.

But that left the Devils' leading scorer open to some ribbing from his teammates, of course.

"He's hanging out with his All-Star bro's,'' said Devils captain and Parise's linemate, Jamie Langenbrunner.

"Don't worry. He'll pay for it,'' Langenbrunner said.

Brendan Shanahan, who played the last two games before the All-Star break after signing with the team Jan. 14, skated on his own last Thursday and Friday and took the next two days off. Shanahan also turned 40 years old on Friday.

Coach Brent Sutter said Shanahan, whom he had to ease into action in his first two games because he hadn't played since last season, should now be up to speed with everyone else.

"I think that's why it was so important for him to have those couple games before the days off, because now he's in the flow of things,'' Sutter said. "You could tell, the pace of his practice today -- his pace is with everybody else now... I think you move forward now with it. The first steps are over with now. Now we get into where you move on, now.''

What did you do over the break? Brian Rolston went to The Bahamas.

"Last year, I actually went home to Michigan,'' Rolston said. "It was cold there. The year before that, I was in the All-Star game. So I never really went away like that for the All-Star break to a warm place. Left the kids at home and took my wife.''

Rolston admitted it was weird to be hanging out in a warm sunny spot in late January, in the midst of the hockey season.

"Yeah, you go there and look at a beach and it's like, 'God, this is so beautiful,''' he said. "It was such a nice place - just a great spot to relax and not think for a few days and just enjoy yourself.''